


Well Met

by DahliaVanDare



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Assumptions, Eating, Eskel Has Self-Esteem Issues (The Witcher), Eskel is self-conscious about his scars, Gen, I thought there was a tag for that, Post-Episode: S01E06 Rare Species, Presumed Dead, Undercooked vegetables, despite that tag this is actually light
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:28:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29197623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DahliaVanDare/pseuds/DahliaVanDare
Summary: Eskel never got the chance to meet Jaskier, so when he comes across a bard that reminds him of one of Geralt’s anecdotes, he decides to be friendly.
Relationships: Eskel & Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 38
Kudos: 210





	Well Met

Eskel sat in the corner of what was not a bad tavern. It was early enough that most of the townsfolk were still laboring (and early enough that the root vegetables in his bowl of stew were still a bit firm, not that he minded), but a handful of travelers and local old men were already scattered about the large room. It was likely to be a busy night, so Eskel thought nothing of it when a man entered and walked toward the counter. 

Eskel had chosen the corner where he could see all the doors and most of the seats, but the layout was such that a wooden column was between him and the newcomer. Still he could easily hear the man introduce himself as a bard and recommend himself as the evening’s entertainment. 

The bard lowered his tone conspiratorially, but still no strain to hear for a witcher, “If your crowd likes music I’ll up your sale of drinks; if they like silence, I’ll up your sale of bread rolls.”

That caught Eskel’s attention. Geralt’s bard had used that line when they first started out. Geralt had been beside himself that winter when he told them about it- even more upset when forced to admit that it worked. Eskel thought it was rather resourceful. 

“A bit of music is popular. Do you know any jigs?”

“Hundreds.”

“I can offer you a cup of broth before you start and a nice bowl of stew when you’re done”

“Broth now, I play all evening, stew and bread at the break, and a place to sleep tonight.”

“Hm, you could sleep in the hayloft.”

“I’ve had worse. And the bread?”

“One roll.”

“Very good, my lady.”

“And you’ll have to buy your own ale.”

“Oh I think you’ll find I rarely buy my own ale.”

Judging by the proprietress’s laugh, the musician must have followed that last with a wink or the like. Bards did tend to go for swagger. Hopefully this one was good since Eskel would hear him either way. 

Eskel was a little surprised when the bard, staring into a mug and barely looking at the room walked right to his table. He was cradling his broth like a freshly hatched chick and only seemed to notice where his feet had taken him when he was already there. He looked around a bit startled, and then his eyes lit on Eskel. He takes him in and for a moment looks… sad? Eskel doesn’t hate it, after all it’s a change from frightened (although he gets that less as Geralt’s songs have spread), definitely better than disgusted. Regardless, the bard soon recovered himself and put on a performer’s smile.

“Do excuse me, good sir. I meant to take myself to an out of the way table, but I see this one is in use.” The bard made to leave. 

“There’s room for you,” Eskel blurted out. (He’d regretted not meeting Geralt’s bard when it would have been possible, and wondered where this fellow had picked up the bread trick) then he remembered himself “if you are amenable to company, that is.” Eskel angled his face to show less of his scars and smiled a little to seem more friendly. 

“It would be my pleasure to sit with a hero from the school of the-” the bard craned his neck to see the symbol on his medallion “- wolf.”

“Not the famous one.”

The bard smiled “No, not the famous one.”

The bard slid into the seat next to him. 

“I hope you don’t mind I need my back to the wall. Wouldn’t want to get snuck up on by any garroters.”

What a strangely, charmingly specific concern! (Not that he could blame the man for choosing the seat a witcher would) Eskel nodded. The seat the bard chose also put him on Eskel’s unscarred side which made it significantly easier to keep his face friendly. 

“Have you traveled long?”

“Every year since I finished my studies. I thought I might not this time, but spring came and I was itching to get back to singing for my supper and sleeping in the dirt,” the man sipped his broth, “I always thought I was choosing to travel, but it turns out I cannot give up the Path, even if I wanted to.”

Eskel could tell that he’d touched something deeper than he meant to with that question, so he scooped up the largest hunk of turnip in his stew and shoved it in his mouth. Not his best idea, the piece of turnip was still raw in the middle, but it did keep him chewing long enough the bard started talking again about something else. They chatted pleasantly, focusing on impersonal matters like road conditions and campfire cookery, as more customers trickled in. A barmaid brought out a tray full of stew, reminding the bard it was time to play. 

“It has been my absolute pleasure to speak with you, but duty calls. Now, one last, deeply important question: how do you feel about witcher songs? Because several of them are very popular and I do tend to get requests.”

“You get requests for the songs about Geralt of Rivia?”

“Well, I did write them.”

“No you didn’t! Jaskier wrote them. You can’t claim them just because he’s dead.”

The bard stared at him, vivid blue eyes going impossibly wide.

“HE’S TELLING PEOPLE I’M DEAD?!”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y’all, doing some rewrites on the next chapters of Who Asks Why When You’re Getting What You Want, but I had this chapter ready to go so. Hope you enjoy.


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